﻿Topics - This section applies only to my worksheets and games, not books.

Introduction

Basic Motor Skills

Getting Their Attention

Teaching Materials

Activities and Games

Difficult Situations

Evaluations and Testing

Introduction ​There is so many topics and information to cover, but I will only cover what is necessary and what I have experience in. There is numerous amounts of teaching information out there and no matter how much you read on it, hands on experience and experimenting is all you really need. I hope you will get some good ideas and advice on how to teach children through my techniques.

Firstly, I was basically an ESL or TEFL teacher in Japan. But I taught at a very new private school, my audience would only be 2 to 6 years old children. Most schools would divide the class, but this one was going to be an absolute challenge. I had to teach a mixed group a kids basically from scratch. Most English Teachers would often have students who would already have a basis for English. But my school had the luck of the draw to have many students with no English concept.

Getting to the point and to my materials/techniques, there was no book that would ever suit these children. Even though my school had the materials for English, it wouldn't suit their age range. Even though they all didn't know any English, their level of learning is much different, there is no explanation needed. A 2 year old vs a 6 year old, you can figure out how it plays out. So I created worksheets and books on my off time to make sure they would all something, but the same thing at a different level. For example, we could play games together, but doing workbooks or textbooks would be difficult. So I would create a simple letter "A" sheet for a 2 year old to color and cut, while the 6 year old would get a word sheet writing and spelling "A" words. But the trick was to keep the timing right and planning how long it would take for the student to do it, so they would finish at the same time. It takes a bit of practice.

Most importantly, besides teaching them basic studies, I focused a lot on behavior, supporting others, kindness, manners, and so on. I never only spoke English in the class, I would discipline them in Japanese if I had too. I wanted them to stand out more than all the other students of other schools. "We are not robots..." was what I advertised to parents...

Basic Motor Skills

Basic motor skills doesn't mean walking or driving a car. Before they can start any lesson in writing, they will need to be able to hold a pencil properly. If they are starting out, it is better to be strict. Start with tracing sheets and coloring books, remember to hold their hand and keep it in the lines. If they fight and try to play around, they will make it a habit and harder for you to teach them, it is best to take away the pencil or some other disciplining technique. If you continue to let them goof off, imagine the future classroom situation, you can't baby all of them.

From scissors, glue sticks, and so on. You will need hands on to be able to do it right, so hold their hand if you have to or give them clear instructions. Remember to tell them to clean up and put caps back on things! Remember they are young, what you do will give them habits, even if you don't agree, make sure they clean up after, do the trash, sit properly, wash their hands, and so on. People wonder why American streets are so dirty and why people just throw trash around. Well, you have your answer. You are with the students, unless it's your own child, for hours a day, you are their role model, be a good one.

When it comes to physical activities, find games that use lots of movements. For example, walking to the park, they can do follow the leader, walk, run (in a soft grounded area), jump over things, break dance, it is really up to you. Make sure you keep an eye on them though. If it was a rainy day, I would play over and under with furniture around the class or with ropes, the babies at this point would be difficult to handle, but with rewards and rules, they stayed in line.

All these simple skills translate into more independent style. When my students became three or four, I had very little problems when teaching them, they wipe their own tables, brush there teeth, and so on. Hard work will pay off in the long run, just be patient.

Getting Their Attention

The most difficult thing to deal with in my opinion, the less children there are, the harder it gets. The first thing I usually did was bond with them during playtime, get to know and gain their trust.

During class time, visual materials are a must. Playing songs, using stuffed animals, anything colorful that has something to do with the lesson. The simplest thing to do was use the student that everyone follows and they will follow as well. Babies were a bit different, they cannot sit well at the beginning, for most of my students, they couldn't sit for long periods.

The babies take more time, for me I had them sit for ten minutes, twenty minutes, and so on. After each lesson, we got up and played a game, then got back to work. It was the best to handle it in my class and the children I taught. Being spontaneous and active, being very vocal. But with babies, there were sometimes misses, all I could do then was just leave them alone a bit, until they came around. But even though some may think it is strict for them to sit so long when they should be playing or can't even believe they could do that, my school was a very serious school and the goal was to have them learn English first and foremost.

As long as you can keep the class and lesson itself fun, then the students have no problem sitting for a long time.

Teaching MaterialsWhen is comes to teaching babies, there are so many materials out there to use in class. Personally, none of them lasted that long in class. Of course, most teachers would use the same routine and materials everyday over and over, to make it easier for themselves and keep it easy. Unfortunately, I thrive on challenges, so I couldn't use the same thing too many times without getting bored of it myself. Yes, I admit it, making planes with colorful blocks were awesome. Besides from books, if you know and planned properly, then almost anything in the classroom can be turned into a interactive lesson. Some schools obviously can't afford high tech materials, but who really need them for children? Children need imagination and creativity! They need hands on and critical thinking. No matter what kind of cool new trend you hear about, nothing can compare to imaginative play and studying. But that is a whole other topic...to get to the point...

As my class had a varied age of students, at completely different levels, it was impossible to give them a textbook/workbook that would be useful nor entertaining for them to do. This is where all my custom sheets came in, I would give them all different sheets to do in class, but it was all the same theme. Everything was explained on the board and handed out to each student.

The materials I made weren't any replacements option, but to fill the gap between the textbooks we use. There was a wonderful textbook for phonics I had, so I invent a new one? There was also one for the babies...the there was no in between. I had to create materials that would fill that gap. I am not one to use a complete set of levels from one company, I used several, some companies create more useful ones than others. But the books never connected when I taught that way, but my worksheets and plans helped. So materials are really up to you, you can rely on them or use things around you, depending on what curriculum you created for the students.

I can write a book on this, so I will keep it short. Be creative, use what is around you and make sure it is rewarding for them. Flashcard games are always easy in small groups, matching them, hiding them, etc. in larger groups it is impossible. You just need to be on your feet at all times with games.

There was one time I had to teach them fast and slow, with no materials, because I hated what was in the book. To stretch that lesson in an hour. We first learned the words and mimicked fast and slow by walking around the table. Then I would have to find a video on the internet like "The Tortoise and the Hare." so they can see it and then we could have a conversation about it. Then I found a string and cup and tied it across the room, so they could play a game where they would blow the cup across the room using only their breath. It was actually the science as well, wind, so I mixed it together with fast and slow. In the end they just had many different lessons at the same time. It is easier to make sure all the lessons and games match up, so a curriculum is important!

One time we had to talk about dinosaurs and bones. They had to do something fun, so I created a 3 foot cardboard dinosaur out of cardboard. There were 30 pieces and we were going to be archaeologists for the day. The bones pieces had connecting letters on them, so they would get a lot of learning from it. So you don't always have to stick to the books...if your already doing something, you might as well go all out!

Especially on a budget, you can always go around a find materials. Stores will always have cardboard. Parents can always bring in empty bottles and milk cartons. It is limitless.

Difficult Situations

Disciplining is an absolute nightmare, but everyone has their own technique. My advice is to be as calm as possible and never give in, especially to babies. If you stress out, ask someone to come in and give yourself a moment in the coffee room or something and gather your thoughts. Find a route and then attack.

Some are a bit smarter and say "Go ahead and tell me mother!" then I would just say, "Sure thing! I'll call her right now..." But that wouldn't work if the parent didn't do anything either. "I don't need English! I am Japanese!" then I would say, "Your right!" then I would take them to a place were it is mostly all English and have them see there is a world out there. You just have to think and take your time on it, even if it isn't on the same day, the year is long...

It's up to you on this.

Evaluations and TestingTesting them is a very difficult thing to do, most people would take the ability to speak in consideration, the way I tested them was to see how much they can understand a situation, through puzzles and problem solving. I taught students specifically English culture and style, reading, writing, listening, and speaking are a must, but my focus was to have them speak naturally and freely in English, not as a robot.

I remember I would get many students from other schools having a trial in my kindergarten. Parents would tell me their kids would have perfect English after paying another school thousands, so they expect their child to have 100% understanding of English. I knew when it comes to schools in Japan, most do cookie cutter lessons or just have random teachers that have no clue what they are doing as it is just a job.

(Depending on their age.) I don't care if they can talk, any child speak a language, but how much can they understand it? The most simplest evaluations I did, most would know what a "CAT" looked like, so I showed them a picture and they will say it. Next I showed them the word and they would just repeat it quickly like a robot. You would assume they can read, so I wondered how far I can go. Then, I would show them the letter big and/or small, they would need to be able to read it and make the sound. I broke down the letters of cat and wondered if they could put letters together to some could and some couldn't. If they could, then I would push it even further, say a word and they must be able to spell it, picking random words they never use like a spelling bee. It is also good to see how well they can handle the stress. Most would think they are too young, but there are no limits in my book. But that was just one way. I also just talked to them and see how much they can have a conversation.

There is also tests they can take by the state. In Japan, they had the Eiken for children. Which includes interviews and listening tests. My students honestly aren't prep'ed for that kind of testing, as it is specific like the American SAT's or a TEFL/JPLT state test, it is something you have to understand to prep. them for it, so don't expect any books or random lesson to help prepare them for that test. If you want to get them ready for that, change the curriculum so it matches with the problems they will face for a test like Eiken. I gave my 2/3 year old's the test for it, without understanding it, they did well, not perfect. Because I was confused at times when I did it.

(Note : My students were not 5 days a week, most were 3 days at most. My school never pushed for the students to be at school for five days a week. They were only babies, they still needed their parents.)I really never gave them a major test, for the satisfaction of the parents, I would gave them listening and writing test, on things they learned. But speaking is done at home as well, so the parents should learn something as well, it also pushes the motivation to the children when their parents also speak English. My other evaluation I usually did was to see how they interact with others and strangers. How they greets others and knew when they were not suppose to do something, to see how they share with others and play together, being perfect with English wasn't always on the menu...

Thank you again for talking the time to read some of my ideas and thoughts about teaching! In the end, you will obviously have your own technique and also all students are different. Remember to be patient, listen to their needs and what they want. Each student grasps learning a bit differently.